Candidates who apply for a job when it first opens will have a " greater chance of getting noticed and getting in on the first wave of interviews," the SmartRecruiters report says. The longer a job posting has been open, the more competition applicants will face.

This can be true for not only the day candidates apply — but also the time of day.

According to the data from SmartRecruiters, 11 a.m. is the most popular time for companies to post new job listings during the week. The majority of candidates apply for jobs around 2 p.m. — so, if you want to be ahead of the curve, you may want to look for new postings in the late morning.

Of course you want to take some time with the application, and you'll need to tailor your résumé and cover letter to the job you're applying for. But once you've got those things ready to go, you'll want to apply as quickly as possible. This shows you're truly interested and motivated to get the job.

Here are the most popular times of day for job seekers to submit their applications:

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